This kind of attack – which has not been claimed – is generally attributed by Somali authorities to jihadist activists Chabab, who regularly conduct attacks in the capital and the big cities of the country
Le Monde with AFP and Reuters
The balance sheet of the double bomb car attack on Saturday in the city center of the Somali capital Mogadishu went a hundred dead, deplored President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Sunday October 30. Three hundred others were injured, he added after going to the attack site. A balance sheet that will have to evolve again, according to him.
A first car bomb exploded in front of the Ministry of Education, near a very busy crossroads in the capital. The second explosion occurred when help arrived on the spot and people gathered to help victims. 2> regular attacks
This kind of attack – which has not been claimed – is generally attributed by the Somali authorities to jihadist activists Chabab, who regularly lead attacks in the capital and the major cities of the country. The Islamist group, linked to Al-Qaida, has been fighting since 2007, the federal government supported by the international community. It was chased from the main cities, including Mogadishu in 2011, but remains solidly established in large rural areas, especially in the south of the country.
In recent months, the Chabab has redoubled activity in Somalia, poor and unstable country of the Horn of Africa, with in particular an attack last week against a hotel in the port city of Kismaayo (nine dead and forty -SEPT injured) or the spectacular assault, about thirty hours long, at the end of August on a hotel in Mogadishu (twenty-one people and one hundred and seventeen injured). After this last attack, the Somali President, Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud, had promised a “total war” to eliminate the Chabab and called the population to “hold out” of the areas controlled by the Islamists who were going to be targeted by future offensives.
The security forces and local clan militias have notably launched military operations in the center of the country, which, according to the authorities, have taken ground from the Islamist fighters.
In addition to the Chabab insurgency, Somalia is also threatened by an imminent famine, caused by the most serious drought observed for more than forty years. Through the country, 7.8 million people, almost half of the population, are affected by drought, of which 213,000 are in great danger of famine, according to the United Nations. Without urgent mobilization, the famine state could be declared before the end of the year.